Green Pipian Recipes

GREEN PIPIAN

Steps:

• Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
• Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
• Heat the oil in the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture and if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.

POLLO EN PIPIAN (CHICKEN IN PIPIAN SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine chicken, water, celery, bay leaf, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is cooked through and tender. Strain, reserving the broth. Skin and bone the chicken; set the meat aside.
• Toast the sesame seeds lightly in a skillet, stirring constantly, until they are fragrant. In a food processor or blender, puree the sesame seeds and almonds with1 cup of the reserved chicken broth.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the blended sesame seed and almond mixture, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in 1 to 2 cups reserved chicken broth and chicken bouillon. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped peppers, olives, capers, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes, and serve hot.

GREEN PIPIâN MOLE WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make the mole:
• In a sauté pan over moderate heat, toast the pumpkins seeds, stirring frequently and being careful not to burn them. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Once cool, reserve about 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds for garnish, then transfer the remaining seeds to a blender and add enough vegetable stock to cover by 1 inch. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and clean the blender.
• Place the tomatillos, epazote, hoja santa, romaine, cilantro, chiles, onion, garlic, and cumin in a blender, in that order, and blend well. If more liquid is needed, add water or broth, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• In a deep skillet over high heat, heat the oil until shimmering then carefully add the tomatillo mixture and fry, stirring constantly and adding broth or water as needed to achieve a sauce-like consistency, for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the pumpkin seed mixture. Mix well, then season to taste with salt.
• To serve:
• Divide the rice, chayote or zucchini, green beans, and poached chicken among 4 plates. Coat the chicken with the mole, garnish with the reserved pumpkin seeds, and serve.
• DO AHEAD: Leftover mole can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days in the refrigerator. Or, if frozen properly in an airtight container and wrapped in plastic and then aluminum wrap, it can be held for up to 4 months in the freezer.

SALMON IN LUXURIOUS GREEN SESAME PIPIAN (SALMON EN PIPIAN VERDE

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, process the salsa to a smooth puree.
• Heat the oil in a very large (12 inch) skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the salsa all at once. Stir as the salsa reduces to the consistency of tomato paste, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the broth and the tahini. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about ½ tsp, and a little sugar. (The sugar will help balance the natural tartness of the salsa.).
• While the sauce is simmering, pour the peas into a microwaveable bowl, sprinkle on a Tbsp of water, cover with plastic wrap and poke a couple of holes in the top. Microwave on high until the peas are hot and tender, anywhere from 1 minute for frozen peas to 4 or 5 minutes for fresh peas; discard water.
• When the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, nestle the fish fillets in it, completely submerging them. Continue simmering gently until the fish flakes when pressed firmly, usually 5 to 6 minutes for ½ inch thick fillets. (Check it by lifting up a fillet on a metal spatula and pressing it with your finger or the back of a spoon.).
• Transfer a fish fillet to each dinner plate. Spoon a portion of the sauce over the top. Strew with the peas, sesame seeds and cilantro.
• Variations:.
• You can replace the peas with a couple of medium-large red-skin boiling potatoes cut into eighths (microwave them until tender, about 8 minutes). Mix the potatoes into the sauce after transferring the fillets to the dinner plates. A can of white beans makes a great replacement for the peas; drain and rinse them before adding them to the sauce. This dish is also wonderful made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts or semi-boneless quail; poach the birds in the sauce as described or, for added flavor, brown them in oil in the large skillet, then remove them and, without washing the skillet, cook down the pureed salsa. Tahini is an easy addition because it's smoothly ground, but you can use the very traditional pumpkin seeds or almonds or peanuts; puree them with the salsa, but stir carefully as you cook the mixture down to a paste (it will stick more easily than the salsa alone) After the sauce has simmered 10 minutes, it will likely be quite coarse looking; reblend the hot sauce in a loosely covered blender to smooth it out.